Handbag system with replaceable outer tote shell and attachment mechanism

ABSTRACT

A handbag system includes an inner bag and at least one outer shell. The inner bag has a compartment into which items can be placed and a handle with a first end and a second end. The first end is fixed to a first position on the inner bag while the second end is unfixed but has a first fastener. A corresponding second fastener is fixed to a second position on the inner bag to releasably connect with the first fastener. The outer shell defines an inner volume that accepts the inner bag and has a first and second openings corresponding to the first and second positions of the inner bag. The second end of the handle is passable through the first and second openings to releasably secure to the inner bag via the second fastener.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/256,962, filed Nov. 18, 2015, the contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Disclosure

This application relates generally to the field of handbags, and in morespecific embodiments, to a tote bag with a replaceable outer shell and amechanism for attachment to an inner bag portion.

2. Description of the Related Art

Handbags are used by people to hold and carry various items, fromwallets, to keys, to cosmetics, to any number of personal items. Beyondthe purely functional aspects of carrying personal items, handbags alsoprovide an aesthetic aspect as an accessory, helping to define the styleand appearance of an individual.

Handbags are designed in a variety of styles and fabrics and materialsof varying weights, colors, and patterns. Because the externalappearance of the conventional handbag is fixed, people generally havemultiple handbags that they use for different situations or occasions.However, moving items between multiple bags can be a source offrustration for the person. Further, buying different styles of bags tosuit different occasions can also be expensive. Therefore, there is aneed for a bag with a replaceable outer shell to suit a variety ofpurposes, situations, or occasions.

BRIEF SUMMARY

A simplified summary is provided herein to help enable a basic orgeneral understanding of various aspects of exemplary, non-limitingembodiments that follow in the more detailed description and theaccompanying drawings. This summary is not intended, however, as anextensive or exhaustive overview. Instead, the sole purpose of thesummary is to present some concepts related to some exemplary,non-limiting embodiments in a simplified form as a prelude to the moredetailed description of the various embodiments that follow.

In one aspect, the disclosure presents an inner bag, into which itemscan be placed, with handles that can interlock with a replaceable outershell of various styles and materials. The inner bag, the outer shell,and the handles can be made of one or more various materials, includingleather, nylon, or fabric of any other suitable materials.

In a further aspect, the inner bag has a first handle on a first sideand a second handle on an opposing second side, and a fastener on eachof the first and second sides respectively corresponding to the firstand second handles. The first and the second handles each have two ends,a first end of which that is fixedly attached to the respective side ofthe inner bag, and a second end of which that can be removably attachedto the respective fastener on the first side or second side of the innerbag.

In a further aspect, there is an outer shell in which the inner bag canbe placed. The other shell has two openings on the first side and twoopenings on the second side. The openings on the outer shell arearranged such that the detached first handle of the inner bag can belooped through the two openings on the first side of the outer shell andthen secured to its respective fastener on the first side of the innerbag, and the detached second handle of the inner bag can be loopedthrough the two openings on the second side of the outer shell and thensecured to its respective fastener on the second side of the inner bag.In this way, the inner bag and an outer shell can be combined to form acomplete bag assembly.

In a further aspect, when the inner bag and outer shell are combined,the assembled bag system appears to an observer as if it is aconventional, single-piece bag, rather than an assembly of multipleparts. The combined bag can appear as a seamless, single-piece bag. Theopenings on the outer shell can be arranged to match the dimensions ofthe inner bag to help accomplish this cohesive appearance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein will be betterunderstood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings, whereinlike reference numerals refer to like components. For the purposes ofillustrating aspects of the present application, there are shown in thedrawings certain preferred embodiments. It should be understood,however, that the application is not limited to the precise arrangement,structures, features, embodiments, aspects, and devices shown, and thearrangements, structures, features, embodiments, aspects and devicesshown may be used singularly or in combination with other arrangements,structures, features, embodiments, aspects and devices. The drawings arenot necessarily drawn to scale and are not in any way intended to limitthe scope of this invention, but are merely presented to clarifyillustrated embodiments of the invention. In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a drawing of a first embodiment outer shell described in someaspects of this disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a drawing of a back side of a second embodiment outer shell,having a trolley handle sleeve as described in some aspects of thisdisclosure;

FIG. 3 is a drawing of an embodiment inner bag described in some aspectsof this disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a drawing of an assembled handbag described in some aspects ofthis disclosure; and

FIG. 5 is a drawing of another embodiment inner bag described in someaspects of this disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Certain terminology is used herein for convenience only and is not to betaken as limiting the present disclosure. Relative language used hereinis best understood with reference to the drawings, in which likenumerals are used to identify like or similar items. Further, in thedrawings, certain features may be shown in somewhat schematic form.

It is also to be noted that the phrase “at least one of,” if usedherein, followed by a plurality of members herein means one of themembers, or a combination of more than one of the members. For example,the phrase “at least one of a first widget and a second widget” means inthe present application: the first widget, the second widget, or thefirst widget and the second widget. Likewise, “at least one of a firstwidget, a second widget and a third widget” means in the presentapplication: the first widget, the second widget, the third widget, thefirst widget and the second widget, the first widget and the thirdwidget, the second widget and the third widget, or the first widget andthe second widget and the third widget.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary, non-limiting, outer shell 100 inaccordance with one or more aspects described herein. FIG. 1 depicts afirst side 102 of outer shell 100, such as the front side or the backside of outer shell 100. Though specific designs can vary between afront side and back side of an outer shell, the two sides will generallymatch in appearance. However, it will be appreciated that other,non-symmetrical, arrangements are possible. For example, one or bothsides of outer shell 100 can include pockets for storing items thatmight not match pockets or other designs on the reverse or opposite sideof outer shell 100. By way of specific example, as disclosed in thefollowing, the back side of an outer shell can also include a trolleyhandle sleeve that allows the bag assembly to be secured to luggagetrolley handles.

In an aspect, first side 102, such as the front side, of outer shell 100has two openings 101, which can also be called eyelets. Similarly, asecond, opposing side of outer shell 100, such as a back side of outershell 100, also includes two openings 101. The openings 101 on the firstside 102 of outer shell 100 are sized to accept a first handle from aninner bag, and are positioned at locations corresponding to terminalends of the first handle on the inner bag. Hence, the first handle fromthe inner bag can be looped through each of the two openings 101, andwhen so looped, the two openings 101 of the first side 102 canrespectively correspond to the terminal ends of the first handle on theinner bag. Similarly, the openings 101 of the opposing, second side, ofouter shell 100 are sized to accept a second handle of the inner bag,and are positioned at locations corresponding to the terminal ends ofthis second handle. Hence, analogous to the first handle, the secondhandle of the inner bag can be looped through each of the two openings101 of the second side and, when so looped, the two openings 101 of thesecond side can respectively correspond to the terminal ends of thesecond handle on the inner bag.

It will be further appreciated that outer shell 100 defines an innervolume 104 between the first side 102 and its opposing second side, intowhich volume 104 one or more items may be placed. In particular, theabove-mentioned inner bag may be disposed within inner volume 104 ofouter shell 100, and then the first and second handles of this inner bagmay be engaged with the openings 101 of their respective first andsecond sides of outer shell 100 to integrate the inner bag with outershell 100. Hence, the handles extend out of their respectively openings101 from within volume 104 to form respective loops used for carryingpurposes. Eyelets or openings 101 preferably have shapes thatsubstantially correspond to the cross-sectional area of their respectivehandles, so as to provide a pleasing appearance and to ensure engagementbetween the handles and eyelets 101 is not unnecessarily loose orsloppy. Further, it will be appreciated that the external surface ofouter shell 100 may be made of any suitable material conventionally usedfor handbags, such as cloth, leather or the like. Such material ormaterials preferably provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance andmay also be water proof or water resistant, for example.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary, non-limiting, second side 206, such asa back side, of another embodiment outer shell 200, which includes atrolley handle sleeve in accordance with one or more aspects describedherein. FIG. 2 illustrates some aspects in which back side 206 of outershell 200 includes a trolley handle sleeve that allows the bag assemblyto be secured to luggage trolley handles for convenience during travel.This configuration, with a trolley handle sleeve, need not be includedin all outer shells in accordance with the present disclosed subjectmatter, but is simply an option for various embodiments of an outershell.

As with FIG. 1, back side 206 of outer shell 200 contains two openings201, e.g., eyelets. Openings 201 are arranged such that thecorresponding handle from an inner bag can be looped through the twoopenings 201, this handle of the inner bag thus extending from innervolume 204 of outer shell 200 to form a loop for carrying purposes. Atrolley handle sleeve 210 for accepting a trolley handle of luggage isformed much like an external pocket in a conventional bag, defining apocket 214 between inner volume 204 and the external surface of handlesleeve 210. Top zipper 220 is used to selectively open and close the topopening of pocket 214, while a bottom zipper 230 is used to selectivelyopen and close the bottom opening of pocket 214. When both zippers 220and 230 are open, a trolley handle of luggage can pass through the topand bottom openings of pocket 214, thus forming a convenient engagingpoint between outer shell 200 and a piece of luggage. When bottom zipper230 is closed, pocket 214 may serve as a conventional external pocket ofouter shell 200, into volume 214 of which a user may dispose items ofhis or her choice and then seal within by closing top zipper 220.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary, non-limiting, inner bag 300 inaccordance with one embodiment, which may be disposed within, forexample, inner volumes 104, 204 of outer shells 100, 200. Inner bag 300may itself define compartment 304 into which a user may dispose itemsfor carrying. This compartment 304 may be closable by any suitablemeans, such as one or more snaps, one or more zippers, loop-and-hookfastener, or the like.

The shape of inner volumes 104, 204 of outer shells 100, 200 preferablysubstantially corresponds to the shape of the external surface of innerbag 300 so that inner bag 300 is snugly retained within the outer shell.Hence, when inner bag 300 is slid within an outer shell of the user'schoice, a bottom surface 306 of inner bag 300 preferably comes to restson a bottom of the inner volume of this outer shell, while the othersurfaces of inner bag 300 preferably slidably abut their correspondingsurfaces of the inner volume of the outer shell. Additionally, whenproperly disposed within the outer shell, the openings or eyelets of theouter shell preferably are aligned over, or just slightly verticallyabove, the respective terminal ends of the handles of inner bag 300, inwhich the “vertical” direction may be viewed as being antiparallel tothe insertion direction of inner bag 300 within the outer shell.

FIG. 3 depicts a first side 302 of inner bag 300, such as a front sideor a back side of inner bag 300. Though specific designs can varybetween a front side and back side of an inner bag, the two sides willgenerally match in appearance. The appearance of inner bag 300 willgenerally be shielded from view when the bag system is fully assembled,with inner bag 300 being placed inside the inner volume defined by anouter shell of choosing of the user. Although the external surface ofinner bag 300 is typically not visible when being used in conjunctionwith an outer shell, in preferred embodiments the external surface ofinner bag 300 is also provided with an aesthetically pleasingappearance, thus offering yet another possible user configuration, inwhich inner bag 300 is carried alone, and thus not disposed within anouter shell.

First side 302 of inner bag 300 includes a first handle 310 having afirst end 312 that may be fixedly attached or releasably attached toinner bag 300 at a first position 320. For the specific embodiment innerbag 300 depicted in FIG. 3, first end 312 of first handle 310 is fixedlyattached to first position 320. First position 320 is preferably on theexternal surface of inner bag 300 and is at a location that correspondsto one of the openings or eyelets of an outer shell, as previouslyindicated. By way of example, as shown in FIG. 3, first end 312 of firsthandle 310 can be sewn to inner bag 300. However, it will be appreciatedthat alternative fixable assembly methods can be used, such as gluing,ultrasonic welding, being integrally formed with first side 302 or anyother suitable bonding or coupling method, depending upon materialsused, desired finished appearance, durability and the like. Asillustrated, first handle 310 is not drawn to scale, but is drawn toillustrate its two opposite ends 312, 314, in which first end 312 isfixedly attached to inner bag 300 at first position 320, and theopposing, second end 314 is removably attachable to a second position340 of inner bag 300 and is shown in an unattached state. Secondposition 340 is preferably on the external surface of inner bag 300 andis at a location that corresponds to another one of the openings oreyelets of the outer shell, analogous to first position 320. Firsthandle 310 will generally be longer than illustrated, to allow forcarrying of the assembled bag system by hand or over the shoulder. A bagassembly 1 in accordance with certain aspects of this disclosure isshown in FIG. 4, combining inner bag 300 with outer shell 100, anddepicts a full-length first handle 310.

Second end 314 of first handle 310 includes a first fastener 330, whichallows first handle 310 to be removably attached to inner bag 300 atsecond position 340. Inner bag 300 thus includes a corresponding secondfastener 342, which is designed to be combined with first fastener 330to allow second end 314 of first handle 310 to be removably attached toinner bag 300. Any suitable removable fastening means may be used forfirst fastener 330 and second fastener 342. For example, snaps, buttons,clips, hook-and-loop fastener (e.g., VELCRO®), zippers, buckles and thelike may be used.

As an alternative embodiment, FIG. 5 illustrates an inner bag 500substantially similar to inner bag 300 but for which both ends of handle510 are removably attachable, thus permitting changing not only theouter shell 500 but also the handles 510 themselves. In the embodimentinner bag 500, first end 512 of handle 510 is removably attached tofirst position 520 by way of paired fasteners 550, analogous to secondend 514 and second position 540. For aesthetic reasons, these fasteners550 may be identical to first fastener 530 and second fastener 542.

Returning back to FIG. 3, in certain preferred embodiments, a respectivefirst loop 350 and second loop 360 are fixedly attached to inner bag 300vertically above first position 320 and second position 340. Each loop350, 360 is sized to accept first handle 310. Second loop 360, disposedjust above second fastener 342, helps to ensure that first fastener 330at second end 314 of first handle 310 does not inadvertently detach fromsecond fastener 342 on inner bag 300. First loop 350 may be providedsimply to provide an aesthetic balance with second loop 360 or tosimilarly serve to prevent inadvertent detachment of first end 312 if itis also releasably attached to inner bag 300, as also shown in FIG. 5.

Though FIG. 3 depicts only one side of an inner bag, either a front orback, the reverse side has a second handle and the second handle on thereverse side also has a first end that is fixedly attached to the innerbag and a second end that can be removably attached to a fastener on theinner bag, with each position corresponding to an opening or eyelet ofthe outer shell, analogous to the first handle 310.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary, non-limiting, assembled handbag 1 asdescribed in some aspects of this disclosure. In this example, outershell 100 is combined with inner bag 300, which, apart from first handle310, is not shown because it is disposed inside inner volume 104 ofouter shell 100 and thus hidden from view. As discussed above, firsthandle 310 is attached to inner bag 300 on two ends 312, 314, one end312 fixed and the other end 314 removably attached. The attachment offirst handle 310 to inner bag 300 is also hidden from view in the fullassembly 1 illustrated in FIG. 4. As shown, first handle 310 issequentially looped through each of the two openings 101 of outer shell100.

To assemble bag assembly 1 depicted in FIG. 4, inner bag 300 isconfigured so that first handle 310 is unattached and is not threadedthrough second loop 360, but is threaded through first loop 350. Thesecond handle of inner bag 300 is placed in a similar state. Inner bag300 is then disposed within inner volume 104 of outer shell 100 so thatbottom surface 306 of inner bag 300 rests against the bottom of innervolume 104, while the other surfaces of inner bag 300 abut theircorresponding surfaces of inner volume 104. The free, second end 314 offirst handle 310 is first threaded through opening 101 immediatelyadjacent to first position 320 of inner bag 300, thus extending frominner volume 104 out of outer shell 100, and then threaded throughopening 101 immediately adjacent to second position 340 of inner bag300, thus looping back into inner volume 104. The second end 314 ofhandle 310 is then passed through second loop 350, and fastener 330 isattached to fastener 342 to removably connect second end 314 to secondposition 340 of inner bag. A similar process is then performed for thesecond handle on the opposite side of inner bag 310.

FIG. 4 depicts one side of bag assembly 1, such as either the front sideor the back side. Though specific designs can vary between a front sideand back side, the two sides will generally match in appearance. Incertain aspects, as discussed in relation to FIGS. 1 and 2, the backside of the outer shell 100 can also include a trolley handle sleevethat allows the bag to be secured to a trolley handle, as illustrated inFIG. 2. Though FIG. 4 shows only one side of a bag assembly 1, either afront or back, the reverse side also has two openings 101 with a secondhandle sequentially looped therethrough.

Unlike the illustration in FIG. 3, handle 310 in FIG. 4 is shown toscale with the remainder of bag assembly 1 of FIG. 4. Though the exactlength and proportions can vary, first handle 310 (and, preferably, itscorresponding second handle on the opposite side of assembly 1) willtypically be long enough for bag assembly 1 to be carried by hand orpossibly long enough to be carried over the shoulder.

As depicted in FIG. 4, bag assembly 1 can appear as one bag, rather thanan assembly of multiple pieces. Bag assembly 1 provides the seamlessappearance of a regular bag, and not the combination of an inner bagwith an outer shell. The openings on the outer shell, as well as therelative dimensions of the inner bag and outer shells, can be arrangedto help accomplish this appearance. For example, sufficient distance maybe left between the ends 312, 314 of handle 310 so that openings 101 arecovered by inner bag 300. Additionally, patterning of the outer surfaceof inner bag 300 may match the patterning of the inner surface of theinner volumes 104, 204 of outer shells 100, 200.

It will be appreciated that an advantage of various embodiments is thatnumerous different types of outer shells may be provided, such as onewith a smooth outer appearance, another with pockets, yet another with atrolley sleeve, and so forth, as well as providing variations in colors,patterns, textures and materials. A user can thus easily change thefunctionality, appearance or both of a bag assembly 1 by simply swappingout one outer shell for another. Further, this ability to change outershells provides a significant financial benefit to the user, as he orshe user needs only to buy an outer shell to obtain a new appearance orfunction of the bag assembly 1, at a fraction of the price of buying awhole new bag. Moreover, it will be appreciated that the bag system 1may include layered outer shells. For example, a bag system 1 mayinclude inner bag 300 disposed within outer shell 100, and then thisentire combination disposed within outer shell 200, with the ends ofhandles 310 then passing through respective pairs of openings 101, 201.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that the present subject matterhas many applications, may be implemented in various manners and, assuch is not to be limited by the foregoing embodiments and examples. Anynumber of the features of the different embodiments described herein maybe combined into one single embodiment, the locations of particularelements can be altered and alternate embodiments having fewer than ormore than all of the features herein described are possible.Functionality may also be, in whole or in part, distributed amongmultiple components, in manners now known or to become known.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could bemade to the embodiments described above without departing from the broadinventive concept thereof It is understood, therefore, that thisinvention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but itis intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope of thepresent invention. While there have been shown and described fundamentalfeatures of the invention as applied to being exemplary embodimentsthereof, it will be understood that omissions and substitutions andchanges in the form and details of the disclosed invention may be madeby those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of theinvention. Moreover, the scope of the present invention coversconventionally known, future developed variations and modifications tothe components described herein as would be understood by those skilledin the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A handbag system comprising: an inner bag havinga first side, the inner bag comprising: a compartment into which itemscan be placed; a first handle having a first end and a second end, thefirst end fixed to a first position on the first side, the second endhaving a first fastener; and a second fastener fixed to a secondposition on the first side and configured to releasably connect with thefirst fastener; and a first outer shell having a first side and definingan inner volume configured to accept the inner bag, the first side ofthe first outer shell comprising: a first opening corresponding to thefirst position of the inner bag; and a second opening corresponding tothe second position of the inner bag; wherein the first and secondopenings of the first outer shell are arranged such that the second endof the first handle is passable through the first and second openings toreleasably secure to the inner bag via the second fastener.
 2. Thehandbag system of claim 1 wherein: the inner bag further comprises: asecond side opposite the first side of the inner bag; a second handlehaving a first end and a second end, the first end of the second handlefixed to a third position on the second side of the inner bag, thesecond end having a third fastener; and a fourth fastener fixed to afourth position on the second side of the inner bag and configured toreleasably connect with the third fastener; and the first outer shellfurther comprises: a second side opposite the first side of the firstouter shell, the inner volume defined between the first and second sidesof the first outer shell, the second side of the first outer shellcomprising a third opening corresponding to the third position of theinner bag and a fourth opening corresponding to the fourth position ofthe inner bag; wherein the third and fourth openings of the first outershell are arranged such that the second end of the second handle ispassable through the third and fourth openings to releasably secure tothe inner bag via the fourth fastener.
 3. The handbag system of claim 2further comprising: a first loop adjacent to the second fastener, thefirst loop configured to accept the first handle; and a second loopadjacent to the fourth fastener, the second loop configured to acceptthe second handle.
 4. The handbag system of claim 3 further comprising:a third loop fixed adjacent to the first position of the inner bag, thethird loop configured to accept the first handle; and a fourth loopfixed adjacent the third position of the inner bag, the fourth loopconfigured to accept the second handle.
 5. The handbag system of claim 2wherein the inner bag covers the first, second, third, and fourthopenings when disposed in the inner volume of the first outer shell. 6.The handbag system of claim 2 wherein a patterning of an inner surfaceof the inner volume matches a patterning of an external surface of theinner bag.
 7. The handbag system of claim 2 wherein the first, second,third, and fourth positions are on an external surface of the inner bag.8. The handbag system of claim 2 wherein the inner bag covers the first,second, third, and fourth openings when disposed in the inner volume ofthe first outer shell.
 9. The handbag system of claim 1 furthercomprising at least a loop adjacent to the second fastener, the loopconfigured to accept the first handle.
 10. The handbag system of claim 8further comprising: a first loop fixed adjacent to the first position ofthe inner bag; and a second loop fixed adjacent the second position ofthe inner bag; wherein the first and second loops are configured toaccept the first handle.
 11. The handbag system of claim 1 wherein theinner bag covers the first and second openings when disposed in theinner volume of the first outer shell.
 12. The handbag system of claim 1wherein a patterning of an inner surface of the inner volume matches apatterning of an external surface of the inner bag.
 13. The handbagsystem of claim 1 wherein the first position and the second position areon an external surface of the inner bag.
 14. The handbag system of claim1 further comprising a second out shell having a first side and definingan inner volume configured to accept the first outer shell, the firstside of the second outer shell comprising a first opening correspondingto the first position of the inner bag, and a second openingcorresponding to the second position of the inner bag, wherein the firstand second openings of the second outer shell are arranged such that thesecond end of the first handle is passable through the first and secondopenings of the second outer shell to releasably secure to the inner bagvia the second fastener.
 15. A method for assembling a handbag system,the handbag system comprising: an inner bag having a first side, theinner bag comprising: a first handle having a first end and a secondend, the first end fixed to a first position on the first side, thesecond end having a first fastener; and a second fastener fixed to asecond position on the first side and configured to releasably connectwith the first fastener; and an outer shell having a first side anddefining an inner volume configured to accept the inner bag, the firstside comprising: a first opening corresponding to the first position ofthe inner bag; and a second opening corresponding to the second positionof the inner bag; the method comprising: disposing the inner bag withinthe inner volume of the outer shell; passing the second end of the firsthandle through the first opening; subsequently, passing the second endof the first handle through the second opening; and attaching the firstfastener to the second fastener.
 16. The method of claim 15 wherein: theinner bag further comprises: a second side opposite the first side ofthe inner bag; a second handle having a first end and a second end, thefirst end of the second handle fixed to a third position on the secondside, the second end having a third fastener; and a fourth fastenerfixed to a fourth position on the second side and configured toreleasably connect with the third fastener; and the outer shell furthercomprises: a second side opposite the first side of the outer shell, theinner volume defined between the first and second sides of the outershell, the second side of the outer shell comprising a third openingcorresponding to the third position of the inner bag and a fourthopening corresponding to the fourth position of the inner bag; themethod further comprising: passing the second end of the second handlethrough the third opening; subsequently, passing the second end of thesecond handle through the fourth opening; and attaching the thirdfastener to the fourth fastener.
 17. The method of claim 16 wherein theinner bag further comprises a first loop fixed adjacent to the secondfastener and a second loop fixed adjacent fourth fastener and the methodfurther comprises passing the second end of the first handle through thefirst loop prior to attaching the first fastener to the second fastener,and passing the second end of the second handle through the second loopprior to attaching the third fastener to the fourth fastener.
 18. Themethod of claim 15 wherein the inner bag further comprises a loop fixedadjacent to the second fastener and the method further comprises passingthe second end of the first handle through the loop prior to attachingthe first fastener to the second fastener.
 19. A handbag systemcomprising: an inner bag having a first side, the inner bag comprising:a compartment into which items can be placed; a first handle having afirst end and a second end, the first end having a first fastener, thesecond end having a second fastener; a third fastener fixed to a firstposition on the first side and configured to releasably connect with thefirst fastener; and a fourth fastener fixed to a second position on thefirst side and configured to releasably connect with the secondfastener; and a first outer shell having a first side and defining aninner volume configured to accept the inner bag, the first side of thefirst outer shell comprising: a first opening corresponding to the firstposition of the inner bag; and a second opening corresponding to thesecond position of the inner bag; wherein the first and second openingsof the first outer shell are arranged such that the second end of thefirst handle is passable through the first and second openings toreleasably secure to the inner bag via the second fastener.
 20. Thehandbag system of claim 19 further comprising: a first loop fixedadjacent to the first position of the inner bag; and a second loop fixedadjacent the second position of the inner bag; wherein the first andsecond loops are configured to accept the first handle.